Sunrise, Sunset
by Lady Sage
Summary: A songfic of the song from Fiddler on the Roof by the same name. It's Chisa and Hotohori's wedding day-what is everyone thinking as they watch? Sequel to Love and Hate. Please R&R!


Sunrise, Sunset  
  
Disclaimers: I do not own FY. The great Yu Watase does, and John Williams owns "Sunrise, Sunset". K?  
  
AN: YAY! My first published songfic! It takes place in the same version of the FY world as all my other fics. A slight explanation of the plot: parts of it take place at Chisa and Hotohori's wedding, and other parts are after when they're visiting Okoto and Shakala. It's pretty clear which is which...I hope. Anyway, "Sunrise, Sunset" is a song from the musical "Fiddler on the Roof", and it is sung during the wedding of Tzeitel, the oldest of five daughters, and her childhood friend, Motel. No, his name is not pronounced like the word for a small, cheap hotel. It's pronounced like the word "model". But I digress. Anyway, I am not a Broadway musical freak. That's my sister. ^_^" But she was listening to her "Fiddler on the Roof" CD, and I have a tendency to connect songs with anything possible. And I connected it with my fic. So, enjoy!  
  
Hotohori bit his lip apprehensively. It was his wedding day. The Suzaku seishi and every single noble in the country were there, as well as most peasants in the area. Here he was, surrounded by friends and people who admired him. He was about to marry the girl he loved more than any other, but he was so nervous. *Why?* he asked himself.  
  
*Because I've been shirking this for months now. I've never thought I was ready, and I didn't think I would be for a long time. Why do I think I am now?* His nervousness grew. He felt a hand squeeze his, and looked. There stood Chisa, looking more beautiful than he had ever seen her. It wasn't the cosmetics she had been forced into wearing; it was the look on her face: a mixture of excitement, nervousness, and love. A look, he realized, that matched his own. Then he realized.  
  
He was ready.  
  
*Is this the little girl I carried?*  
  
Okoto:  
  
Look at her! She's grown up so much since she first come into my life! How could the empress have been the small girl who had beaten up on all the boys, who acted so tough at times but so gentle at others? I remember when Chisa first came.  
  
*Flashback*  
  
There was a knock at my door. I had been cleaning the few cracked dishes I had, and I called, "Come in!" In walked little Kishuku-chan, only five years old, holding a slightly smaller child by the hand.  
  
"I found this kid out in the woods. He was crying, so I brought him to you. I remember you saying how you'd like to have a kid, and he says he doesn't have any parents. So I brought him to you. Anyway, I gotta go. Mom's gonna have the baby any day now, and I'll catch hell if I'm not around to help." I smiled. Kishuku didn't realize that he had brought me a girl rather than a boy. But before I could tell him so, he had flounced out the door.  
  
"Hi there, honey. What's your name?" I knelt down to talk to the child. She had slightly fluffy dirty-blonde hair, and fearless blue eyes flecked with brown, green, and grey. Under the dirt and tearstains, her cheeks were rosy and freckled.  
  
"Chisa," she told me. "Who're you?"  
  
"I'm Okoto. Would you like to stay with me?" She looked around and smiled. "Okay!"  
  
*Is this the little boy at play?*  
  
Sunke:  
  
I am the oldest advisor to the emperor. I was an advisor to his father twenty years before he was born. I helped raise him from childhood. And now...now he's getting married. The other advisors had long pestered him to marry, but I knew better. He would marry when he met the right girl. I suppose I was right.  
  
He had grown so much! When he was a child, none of the other children would play with him; they were afraid of disrespecting the crown prince. He didn't understand why, and his brothers rarely played with him. Every so often, he could convince Lokata, his younger sister, to play with him, but she was never the playful type, and Kani was too busy. So I would play with him. But, unfortunately, duty called, and I could not play with him for long. I'm afraid it caused him to grow up too fast; he never got to enjoy a carefree childhood. He was forced to be an adult when he was barely a teenager...  
  
*I don't remember growing older  
  
When did they?*  
  
Okoto:  
  
I look at my hands. They're so different from how I remember them. I look at my reflection, and I wonder who that is looking back at me. Where did those wrinkles on my forehead come from? And those smile lines? And what about those grey hairs? When did I become middle-aged?  
  
Sunke:  
  
How old am I now? I've been an advisor for 38 years; I started when I was 22. I must be 60. But how can that be? Sixty years is so long; I've barely lived at all. Yet, my life has been full and rich. I could not be happier, watching the child I helped to raise on his wedding day.  
  
*When did she get to be a beauty?*  
  
Tamahome:  
  
Wow...is that really Chisa up there? The tomboyish, violent girl who sometimes helped or hindered my business venues? I hardly recognize her. She looks so beautiful! She never bothered to wear makeup or do anything most girls do, so I never really noticed her. Anything, that is, except for the occasional bitchiness. Plus, I was always so worried about getting money, I never took time to pay attention to girls. Now that I realize that one of the most beautiful girls in Konan was right under my nose all my life. But it's okay. I have a girl that I want to marry now. She may not be the most beautiful girl or the most mature, but I love her. And that's what counts.  
  
*When did he grow to be so tall?*  
  
Kani:  
  
My older brother is a man now, as hard as it is to believe. He is three years my elder, yet growing up, the three years made no difference. It was almost as if he, my sister, and I were triplets, rather than my sister and I just being twins. Now, as he is married and I remain barely more than a child, the years seem an eternity.  
  
I once towered over my brother. He grew slowly; I grew fast. But recently, my growth has slowed and he had a growth spurt. So now I am barely 5'5", and he stands over 6'. So the brother who was once several inches shorter is now several inches taller. It seems so strange...  
  
*Wasn't it yesterday when they were small?*  
  
*Sunrise, sunset  
  
Sunrise, sunset  
  
Swiftly flow the days  
  
Sunflowers turn overnight to sunflowers  
  
Blossoming even as we gaze*  
  
*Sunrise, sunset  
  
Sunrise, sunset  
  
Swiftly fly the years  
  
Once season following another  
  
Laden with happiness and tears*  
  
*What words of wisdom can I give them?  
  
How can I help to ease their way?*  
  
Sunke:  
  
I am an advisor to the emperor, and now the empress as well. But they are so young! I can advise them in imperial matters only, and they have so many trials ahead of them, not as the rulers of Konan, but as a young married couple. I wish I could help them through those times, but there is very little I could do. I am not a romantic, nor have I ever been married.  
  
*Now they must learn from one another  
  
Day by day*  
  
Lokata:  
  
So Onii-sama is finally getting married. I never thought he was into girls, but I guess I was wrong. His choice, especially, is surprising. I'm no snob (okay, maybe a little), but this girl seems beyond the taste of any man. Sure, she's pretty, but she's kinda wild, with an attitude, too. Onii-sama seems like the type to pick a quiet, gentle girl. Like him. Plus she has *no* experience with running anything. If she expected to catch an easy ride by marrying the emperor, she's in for a big, unhappy surprise!  
  
A wry smile crosses my lips. Maybe she's the wrong type for him. Then again, maybe she's not. Onii-sama seems to be smiling and laughing more and more lately. Maybe she'll teach him to loosen up a bit. And maybe she'll pick up some skills from him. After all, Onii-sama learned to rule on the job, along with the help from Okaa-sama and the advisors, especially Sunke. It's his turn to teach. And maybe this girl will learn.  
  
*They look so natural together  
  
Just like two newlyweds should be*  
  
Mitsukake:  
  
I can't help but wonder: If Shoka had lived, would I be in a similar place? If I had been there when she was sick, if she wasn't possessed by the demon, would we be getting married? A bit of guilt starts to fill me. No, this is a happy time. Not a time to worry about what might have been, but a time to enjoy the life I do have, and to be happy for my friends.  
  
*Is there a canopy in store for me?*  
  
Miaka:  
  
Weddings are so nice! I'm happy for Chisa and Hotohori, and it's nice to know that Hotohori isn't in love with me anymore. I didn't like to make him sad, after all. Hmm, I wonder what Tamahome and my wedding will be like. Of course, there'll be a big feast. But everything else is a bit hazy in my imagination. That's all I know: that there'll be a big feast, and I'll be marrying the man I love more than anyone else in either universe. Uh-oh, I'm blushing a little thinking about it. I look at Tamahome, and I can see that he's blushing a little bit too. He takes my hand in his, and I can tell that he's thinking about our marriage as well.  
  
*Sunrise, sunset  
  
Sunrise, sunset  
  
One season following another  
  
Laden with happiness...  
  
And tears...*  
  
Chisa:  
  
In a few minutes that seem like both an eternity and a flash, the wedding is over. I can't believe it! Hotohori and I kiss each other, glad to be together. A wedding is a joining of souls, after all. Or no, a wedding is making a oneness out of something that was not complete before. I found the soul that completed mine, a soul that needed mine to be complete. I couldn't be happier with the man who was my soulmate.  
  
The kiss is only broken when Tamahome oh-so-rudely pokes me first in the shoulder, then, when he didn't get a response, in the back of the neck. Unfortunately, my hair was up for the ceremony, so his finger was prodding the bare skin. "Damn, your finger is cold," I inform him.  
  
"I hate to interrupt," he smirked, "but it's time for the party. The biggest, most expensive banquet I've ever seen has been laid out on the table, and I thought you might like to join us before Miaka eats all of it."  
  
I glare at him for a moment, then smile. "Thanks, Kishuku-chan." I hug him, and tears begin to stream down my face. "Thanks...for being here on my wedding day. There's no one in the world I would rather have here. Well, maybe except for Hotohori, but that kinda goes without saying."  
  
Tamahome shrugged nonchalantly, but I can tell my words mean a lot to him. "No prob," he replies. "I wouldn't miss it for the world. Anyway, let's get going. Now I'm *really* scared that Miaka ate all our food."  
  
I laugh and take his arm, and Hotohori's. I walk to the feast, arm-in-arm with the two men I loved most in the world.  
  
End notes: WAI!!!!!!!! I'm done, after only one day. My sister saw the filename "Sunrise, Sunset", and, being curious about anything that may have something to do with a Broadway musical, she opened it. She was furious that I would associate anything *sarcastic* as great as such a wonderful music with anything as stupid as anime. Not kidding, that was her attitude. LOL, you should have seen her when I wrote a Gundam Wing songfic with a Monkees song! It was hilarious. 


End file.
